Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 12:27 am Post subject: Still a long way to go

Dr. Brandt,

Firstly I would like to say thanks for your contribution to the mountain of testimony on the tobacco issue. As a long time activist, these are no real revelations for me, however it is very important to keep hammering away at the ignorant masses. Your home page intro and book title give me the impression that we have turned the page and that the era is over. In my world I am surrounded by people that are still living in the fog of the industry confusion. I don't personally know anyone that has a clue, and still enforces the code of silence on the subject, or outright defends smoking. One only needs to follow the news and the daily battles over smoking bans, FDA regulation and the ongoing manufactured controversies about smokers rights. America is a patchwork quilt of laws and ordinances with no consistent protection for the non-smoking norm or a legitimate right to not be assaulted by this epidemic. We are still fighting for every square inch of planet earth and the controversy is still raging. The very foundations of our legal rights are under assault as long as this product is still legally sanctified. I hope that you and anyone else that reads this post will join with me and demand that this nation ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and demand that we have a nationally coordinated tobacco control strategy.
Regards,
William Pitt